Academy Roundup - November 7

It was a fruitful weekend for the Dynamo Academy, as both squads traveled to Plano on Sunday and came away victorious against Andromeda Soccer Club. The U-18s improved to 2-3-2 on the season with a 1-0 win, while the U-16s improved to 3-4-0 on the season with a 3-1 victory.

The U-18s came out firing on Sunday, pressuring the Andromeda backline and forcing goalkeeper Kyle Bradley Baylis to work early and often. In the 44th minute, Houston broke through off a corner kick from midfielder Josue Morales (Houston Chavez). After Morales played the short corner to Abé Matamoros (Strake Jesuit), Matamoros dropped the ball back to Morales, who found Chance Bergen streaking into the six-yard box. Bergen flicked the ball to defender Alan Hernandez (Pearland), who did well to slip the ball past Baylis. In the second half, Andromeda moved to a 3-4-3 formation to pressure the Dynamo defense, but the Houston backline held strong, and goalkeeper Graham Wheeler (Katy Taylor) came up big to post the team's first shutout in Texas Division play since a 3-0 win against Andromeda on April 25, 2010.

In the second match of the day, the Dynamo U-16s outworked and outclassed Andromeda from the first whistle. Midfielder Raymundo Marquez (Katy Cinco Ranch) scored his first goal of the season in the 17th minute, off an assist from Alan Arellano (Cy Creek) to give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead. Although Houston controlled play for the early portion of the game, Andromeda leveled the match in the 50th minute after Dynamo defender Nelson Castro (Eastwood Academy) lunged to his right and took down an Andromeda forward in the penalty box. Brendan Pak converted the penalty kick and evened the score. In the 63rd minute, Lorenzo Salazar (Houston Austin) came on for Houston and paid immediate dividends. Within minutes, Salazar put the Dynamo back on top after outmuscling two defenders and firing a shot past a diving Garrett Closs. Arellano sealed the game in the 82nd minute with his first goal of the season, off a through ball from Salazar.

Both Dynamo Academy squads hit the road next weekend with non-conference matches in Colorado. The U-18s kick off Saturday against the Colorado Rush at noon with the U-16s to follow. On Sunday, the U-18s will face off against the Colorado Rapids at 10:30 a.m., with the U-16s to kick off at 1 p.m.